Pros: -I love Chester State Park because it is secluded mostly and the park is huge. All activities are apart from each other. The disc golf course is far down the entrance road. It costs two dollars to play disc golf here but it's totally worth it and the staff is okay with you paying after you complete your round. You have to pick up an envelope a little ways down the entrance to put your money in. I will definitely say it was worth the $2 because this is a true championship course.
-There are two courses on site. This LONGGG advanced course and a practice nine holer. My friend Mikhail and I just played this course because it rained like crazy once we were done. This course is extremely difficult but also very fair and rewarding. This course has many true holes and some of the par 4's and 5's have eagle opportunities but they can also bump up your score.
-Large concrete pads and I like how the long pads have blue arrows and how the shorts have red arrows.
-Accurate tee signs and diagrams. However, #12's tee sign didn't seem very accurate to me. It's a legit dogleg left but the diagram kind of shows a sort of double dogleg.
-There are scorecards on the kiosk beside #1's tee and the course can also be played in two nine hole loops.
-Ends grand with an awesome hole #17 and #18. #17 is slightly downhill par 3. It's nearly 400 ft so it's pretty long and it is tight but the gap is about 20' wide. A two is very possible but it would take a very well placed throw with a driver. Something stable! #18 is definitely one of the greatest par 5's I have played! The creek plays to the left side so this hole was definitely a challenge for Mikhail and I because we typically backhand. The basket is slightly to the right. A birdie would definitely be a great score on this hole but I don't know about an eagle.
-The three par 5's are definitely pros here! #8 is definitely the hardest hole in my book because the rough is extremely difficult to play out of. This is an 819' dogleg left that takes like 425' to 450' to get to the bend. The approach is less difficult because it is straight but it would be exciting just to par this hole here. I took a snowman on this hole! A birdie can be arranged if you have good control and can get past the short pad which plays 565' but if you honestly eagle this hole on the long pad, I'll buy you a thickburger! #12 is only 618' and clearing the fairway is pretty easy. However, the approach is very tight for like 350' with danger on both sides, especially to the right. A 3 is possible but a 4 would be a pretty awesome score, and #18 is one of the best finishers in SC.
-Elevation is here and there. Variety is amazing here. I love how this course starts off with a tight downhill ace run and then gets a little bit tight with an interesting hole 2. Then you play #3, a straight, medium length par 3 that gives you a chance to give a little power but still requires good accuracy. Between both sets of tees, hole distances range from (153' to 819'!). There is an excellent mix of straight, left, and right fairways, and holes #9 and 10 are both awesome valley shots.
-Camping is available here.

Cons: -Really not that many cons for this course but there are a few confusing transitions. A couple more "next tee" arrows could be used.
-After a rainfall, this course can get extremely swampy!! The fairways were soaked today because the course is close to the lake. The water level rose up and there were parts of this course today that were hard to cross. This didn't bring down my rating because this course seems beautiful on a regular day.
-Not enough benches. I agree with 1978 on his review. It would've been nice to have more benches. There was one on #16 but a few more would've been appropriate.
-It's super swampy, marshy and thorny on the left side of #15.

Other Thoughts: -This course is awesome. I loved it and will definitely make it up there again. If you drive here from I-85, it would be a good idea to go off on exit 17 and just take south 321 for like 47 miles. This place is more secluded than the typical course and the nearest restaurant we passed was like 12 miles away. However, there are some gas stations a little closer than that. There are only six short pads but they do make the course quite a bit more forgiving than they do on the longs. I agree with S. Cann's review and think he summed the course up well. However, I think #18 is definitely a signature hole. It's an awesome par 5. If you know #5 at RL Smith in Charlotte, how it plays along a creek bed and goes slightly to the right, this hole is similar, just a good bit longer.
-Very good experience. I love disc golf on 321! It's full of gems. The course at York school is 20 minutes down north 321. I'd definitely recommend you get both of those courses in. York is a really fun par 65, 20 holer! This course is better one in my book because of the variety. But play both!

Pros: It was our first time at Chester and we pulled up to see bright yellow Mach 3's that looked brand new. We had the entire course to ourselves. Course was in good condition, pretty well manicured. Very demanding on precision. We found the fairways to be thin and long distance accuracy was well rewarded. Conversely when you aren't so precise you pay for it.

Course was extremely clean, love that there wasn't garbage or cigarette remnants to be seen. It's amazing how clean the course was, especially since there's no garbage cans to be found. (even in the parking lot)

We also enjoyed the abundance of wildlife to be seen. That was a treat.

Cons: Only bench we saw was on 10. Also no garbage cans, that was a bummer. Would be nice to have a spot to sit down and compose on occasion.

Other Thoughts: Lovely course that was well worth the drive from Columbia!

Pros: *Pictures shown are from the spring or fall and DO NOT represent the summer (closed in)look and feel of the course.
I enjoyed my round here, it was an easy layout to follow from hole to hole, quiet and scenic. I rated this course a 4 My gut instinct is a 3.5 for the current design and condition maybe less...but I added .5* because of the second course on property and the great vibe of the park.
-Great tee pads, grippy, large enough, level, and free of debris
-signage, was great, both the tee signs and the decal arrows on the baskets that pointed you to the next hole. The only concern here is that if those wear you could get lost.
-Course map and kiosk was cool.
-The dedicated parking lot, and private bathroom between the advanced and beginner courses.
-I like pay to play courses, keeps out people who would trash the course.
-Where the fairways were, it was well maintained and mowed.
-Holes were long and technical, a lot of shot shaping is required.
-Tight shots benefit more accurate players.
-Short tee pads on the front 9 holes were sufficient for players stepping up from the beginner course. The long holes were definitely more difficult and a challenge.
-Really pretty fauna transition from the clay hardwood of Charlotte to the sandy pines of S.C. I really liked that the flaura seemed to be evergreen and would probably retain much of its color in the fall.
-Discs were easy to find and I can see this being a safe Fall course with little worry of fallen leafs covering up your discs.
-You will have to play this course smart. I do not find it necessary to go hole by hole or section by section. Pretty much each hole is similar. narrow mowed fairways, and unkempt rough. Hole 9's tee shot was one of the cooler looking.
-If you are looking for a quiet shaded, wooded tight course, you will be in heaven here.

Cons: -No benches or trash cans. for a longer course, you want to sit down sometimes and this isnt an amenity currently offered.
-I did not agree with much of the design of the fairways. They tended to narrow at the end or take sharp turns. A majority of the holes required a well defined turn halfway down the fairway but then a late finishing opposite turn at the end of the discs flight. In my opinion, this is a poorly designed course, not for layout but to accomodate how discs actually fly for most people.
-There are a number of holes where the basket is protected by groupings of trees too far from the basket. If you hit them you drop well outside the circle. Random trees in my opionion should be inside the circle or around it so you have a chance at a putt.
-The course plays noticeably left to right.
- The fairways are very narrow. Even in a dry month, it is obvious that this course can be very swampy. The fairways are more like raised switchbacks through a potential marsh. The water level is so high that when trees fall over, the hole left behind is filled with water. There are hundreds of these water filled holes just off the fairways that can gobble your disc. Holes that you cannot plan to miss.
-I usually can pick a hole or 2 that I really liked, they all seem to be pretty much the same. Holes 10 and 18 stand out to me. Tight fairway, very difficult flight requirement, and hidden, non visible baskets.
-I was able to identify and use "cheater routes" skipping the intended fairway.
-Most of the greens did not have sufficient putting areas cleared out. I "lost" discs a number of times that ended up being within 15' of the basket when found. Occupying the space within the 20' circles surrounding baskets was tall grass, briars, bushes, low hanging trees, water filled holes, mud, and drag piles. Not aspects that I would expect to find on a finished 4*+ course.

Other Thoughts: I really thought this course was neat and fun, and a must stop if you are in the area. Play both courses! but.. it is not finished enough at this time for me to rate over 4. If greens were cleared some, benches installed, secret green protecting trees removed and fairways widened slightly the layout and design would warrant a 4*+ rating. It just isnt there yet.

Pros: Teepads Perfect
Baskets Perfect
Flow Very Good
Signage Perfect
Fairways well defined
Variety of holes very good long short lefty righty
I played this course 1 x reds on front nine and blues on back ...(no reds on back)...the course demands that you hit your lines or you will be chucking it out of the rough repeatedly. Many of the holes tease you into attacking when you should be playing for position. But thats where the fun is right? You really need to play it more than once to appreciate the cleverness of the design.
My wife said I wasnt allowed to review the course until i chilled out from the way i played. See hitting your lines above.

Pros: There is no other thing on this side of the park. DG is itnhere and thats awesome.

Great kiosk with scirecards and a map. The course had nice flow and next tee markers on the baskets were great. As for the baskets, you couldn't have better.

Bathrooms were close plus the secluded course makes for a giant bathroom in case you aren't close to the main entrance. There were plenty of tables or areas where you could sit and eat lunch. Bring your own lunch.

This a top level course. It will require shots you may not use on a regular basis. You'll need those shots you probably don't practice often.

The flow of the course is perfect. We also didn't see another soul out there as we were paying. Not a stitch of trash either. This course is well kept.

Overall A+ here.

Cons: The course was respective. I felt I threw a lot of RHBH anny shots. I'm okay with that but I felt some holes seemed exactly the same.

The red tees were great. We played three rounds of all red and blue. The holes that had both red and blue seemed to have just unnecessary blue tees. The reds were difficult enough. We also felt like reflecting on three rounds from the same tees would show us our improvement or lack of and that's another reason we didn't play those longer blues. There should be reds from all holes. The blues are championship level (not a con). The reds are advanced level and thus have one for every hole. It's a 5 with the remaining reds added and two or three more hyzer like tee shots.

Swampy if rain. Some fairways would be unplayable.

Other Thoughts: The course is fair and it will punish bad shots. In some spots your punished for tree kicks and in others you come out fine.

I had a lot of fun and its worth a trip. I'm crossing my fingers other DG course go in at other state parks.

Pros: -When you first pull up to this course from the park entry road you see a parking lot marked "Disc Golf" with a nice kiosk with maps and scorecards. Disc golf occupies it's own section of the park and you don't have to contend with other park activities.

-Amenities were great! There are bathrooms located between the 18-hole course and the 9-hole course as well as a fire pit area and shelters nearby. There are also lots of picnic tables surrounding the parking area.

-The course is challenging, but fun. Over the course of a round you will end up using every shot in your skill set and pulling discs out of your bag that you seldom use.

-The baskets and signs are great!

-The course plays in a figure-8 with the parking lot in the center.

-Talk about secluded, this course is way off the beaten path in the middle of a state park.

-The scenery is great with the lake in the backdrop of some holes and grass covered fairways shaded by tall pines.

-The course is not crowded. We were there for several hours and saw cars in the lot and few players walking, but never came into contact with them on the course.

-Very little risk of losing a disc (the rough to the left on hole 15 being the one exception).

Cons: -The biggest con for this course is the repetitive nature. There are many holes that require a straight shot with a right turn at the end. You either need a strong FH or under stable drivers if RHBH.

-This course really lacks a signature hole. There are several great holes, but nothing head and shoulders above any of the others.

-Marshy in several areas. Flooding is very likely after a strong rain.

-While also a pro, the fact that this course is so secluded means that there is nowhere nearby for food or drink. You definitely need to pack your own food.

-The rough is rough! Long pants are a good choice!

-There are only 6 red tees, all of which are on the front 9. They felt pretty pointless to me because there seemed to be plenty of room for them on most holes yet they're only present for 1/3 of the course. I could understand if 3-5 shared a tee pad.

Other Thoughts: The $2 charge may be a deterrent for some, but it is well worth the cost. I would suggest packing a lunch and make a day of it playing both the Green and Burgundy courses.

Pros: Brand new course with beautiful scenery set in a state park with a large lake. Mostly wooded holes. Long course layout with Par 4 & Par 5 holes. Awesome!! Two tee pads on some holes give a different look. Some elevation but no mountains to climb. Large kiosk at the front entrance has map, scorecards, etc. Relatively easy navigation through the very quiet & peaceful grass covered fairways. Large concrete tee pads & descriptive tee signs at every tee box (even the short ones!). Very clean park (I didnt see any trash). Lots of challenge for every skill level but I would say geared more towards the Advanced level player.

Cons: This place is kind of out in the middle of nowhere so plan accordingly. Bring your own food & drink. They could use a couple benches (there were none!). There is a very nice lake here but it was not utilized in the course design. If you stray off the fairway there are lots of cut trees laying about making footing tricky.

Other Thoughts: Chester Park DGC stamped discs for sale at the front gate/guard house. Friendly park staff. Camping available! There is a second 9 hole course here that is shorter & would make a good warm-up for its bigger brother. Very cool experience that I can recommend highly!

Pros: I see that I won't be the first person to compare it to Nevin and to be sure, there are some similarities. Both frequently require long straight shots. Both sport a distinct feel, a look and feel to the holes that pervades the respective courses. I'd probably describe the advanced course at Chester as a more forgiving but prettier Nevin. More forgiving in two ways. One, the fairways are a bit wider. It still requires those straight shots, but there is a little more room for error. Two, what is off the fairway is lot easier to walk through and search for shots that do get kicked out there. I actually don't see it as all that difficult a course. I found that it fit right into my skill level and walked away thinking it was perfectly aimed at intermediate players. And prettier. Well, Nevin is a city park and the view from most tees is the thick surrounding brush. Chester has the advantage of being by a lake in a sprawling state park. The towering pines that line the fairways at Chester support branches high above flight paths, allowing the eye to see far in every direction, to the lake from some fairways but everywhere, everywhere, tall, majestic pines. And then there's the fairways, which even in March were green. Brown needles and underbrush everywhere else. Paths of lush green marking the fairways. Between the ground and the trees it has almost an unreal, almost Hyrulean quality to it.

So then there's the golf. That's pretty good too. I wouldn't say there is a signature hole, but they are all solid. Some courses are like that. There is some serious length for a wooded course, with a number of holes over four-hundred feet and a pair that top 800. There is definite variety of length though, with a smattering of holes under 300 feet. I'll add that the lines are solid and as a RHFH dominant player, there were numerous holes that were really set up perfectly for me. (Did this bias me somewhat? I had tons of fun watching drives flow smoothly down these fairways.) There isn't a ton of elevation but there is some.

I also want to point out the greatness of the amenities. The tees are perfect. The teesigns are attractive and informative. And on a course where it would be easy to wander in the wrong direction, the next tee arrows are painted right onto the basket. With those, I had no navigation issues and the course flows nicely from glen to glen.

Cons: It's not beginner-friendly at all. While there is a beginner nine on the property, the difference in difficulty between the courses is massive. New players attempting to step up will have problems.

More significantly, there is nothing really special. The vibe sticks in the mind more than any particular hole. It's a little bit of "too much of the same thing." Not that the thing that the course does is bad but a true elite course should do more than one thing, if that makes any sense.

Lastly, the short tees that are available on some holes do a lot to make the course more accessible. The holes that don't have a shorter option would benefit from a second tee.

Other Thoughts: To me, this course is an obvious 3.75 and I swayed between 3.5 and 4.0 for a while. I want to say I had a 4.0 experience but I feel that someone who wasn't as much of a forehander would not have enjoyed it as much as I did. Or I don't know, maybe it's just lacking a truly memorable hole.

Pros: If you want to get away from it all and play golf in a QUIET place, this is the course for you. MILES from anywhere, serene and secluded.

The amenities of this park are superb. Nice picnic shelters, big lake to canoe/relax on and scenic place to camp.

Tee pads can't be beat. they're long, wide and very grippy. Nice thing to have when the course is very damp (as it was for us) after inches of rain. Also have easily marked red/blue tee markers.

Baskets have arrows pointing toward Red/Blue Tees. A great help

I was amazed at how clean the course was. Usually newly opened courses have debris piles, muddy fairways, etc, but this place was great. Sure there is some debris, but I've seen long-established courses that were littered with limbs.

In a couple of years, this place is going to be superb. As with any new courses, the rough is rough at times (dang near cruel at other times), but, for the most part, still playable. You might not be able to drive the basket from the rough, but in many places a careful upshot/pitch out will get you back to the fairway for a Hail Mary putt at the basket

Now, this is not a course for the faint-of-arm. If you can't through (RHBH) anhyzer shots, or have a very accurate forehand shot, you're toast. If you can throw low, accurate drives, you're golden. Hyzering off the course will kill your round.

I found that I really only needed a few drivers - Roadrunner/Sidewinder - to carve my way through the woods. All the big bombers (Vulcans, Katanas, Nukes) can be left in the car. There's not many places to use them. This course is accuracy, accuracy and placement

Cons: No benches. And with the length of this place, you'll want them! There a few trees I would take out that seemed to have been forgotten when the course was cut. Could use a few directional signs. Some of the transitions are long, and could be confusing to new players.

Other Thoughts: Not a course for beginners. Even the beginner course isn't easy for beginners.

Lasty, if the $2 to pay bothers you, then quit playing! This course is well worth the $2 it cost to get in the park!